Listen to “Urban Building with Bamboo—A ‘Lofty’ Design Challenge,” with Jonas Hauptman
Renewable, carbon-saving bamboo is a common raw material in home goods, clothing, and more. But this inventor is trying to take bamboo to new heights—in the construction of modern, mid-rise buildings.
Listen to “Humility and Hustle,” with NEST’s Rebecca van Bergen
The founder of NEST talks about her passion for supporting craft-based businesses, what it takes for artisans to succeed—and why their success matters on the global scale.
Listen to “How Do Tools and Technology Affect Creativity?” with Gary Rogowski
A veteran woodworker and furniture designer considers the relationship between tools, creativity, and intention—a new episode of “The Secrets of Mastery.”
Listen to “In the Age of Manufacturing, Why Choose Handmade?”
Master woodworker, instructor, and author Gary Rogowski returns to our show to talk about precision, creativity, and the enduring value of handmade work.
Listen to “What is ‘Mastery’—and Can You Innovate from It?”
We asked anthropologist Trevor Marchand, who has studied artisans all over the world, to help us define mastery. We’re also sharing a short film from one of Marchand’s many projects in Africa.
The Intricate World of Mechanical Watches: a Resource List
As with most pursuits that draw devoted hobbyists (including plenty of obsessive ones), fine mechanical watches have spawned a large and passionate subculture. A little Googling will lead you to myriad websites, magazines, conferences, and other gathering grounds for those who want to follow—and, when they can afford it, purchase—timepieces that represent the height of…
Listen to “Chemicals in our Clothes, with Sustainable Fashion Expert Alden Wicker”
Have you ever opened a brand-new package of clothing and been hit with a strong whiff of petroleum? Journalist Alden Wicker took a deep dive into the chemicals commonly used by the fashion industry in her new book, “To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion is Making Us Sick—and How We Can Fight Back.” Craftsmanship Magazine…
An Abbreviated Timeline of a Problematic Standard: the GDP
1937: Simon Kuznets, an economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research, formulates a new way to calculate the economic output of individuals, companies, and the government in a single measure: Gross Domestic Product, which is the value of all the goods that a country produces each year. 1944: The newly formed World Bank and…
Listen to “Keeping the Beat: Custom-Made Conducting Batons”
A good conductor can lead an orchestra with almost anything — even a chopstick. Leonard Bernstein was known to conduct a full symphony with just his eyebrows. Why, then, in this age of cheap manufacturing, are handmade, customized batons still in demand? Written by JEFF GREENWALD Introduction by PAULINE BARTOLONE Narrated by JEFF GREENWALD Produced…
